Portable grain dump and elevator.



No. 72 1,466. v PATENTED FEB, '24, 1903.

1.3001112. PORTABLE GRAIN DUMP AND ELEVATOR.

. ArP'LmATIon rum) 001225,- 1902. no MODEL. 2 gums-mum 1.

No. 621,466. PATENTED FEB. 24, 1903.

I v J ROGKE.

PORTABLE GRA'INDUMP AND ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 26, 1902.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ROOKE, OF MEADOWS, ILLINOIS.

PORTABLE GRAI N DUMP AN D ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 721,466, datedFeloruary 24, 1903.

Application filed October 25, 1902. Serial. No. 128,815- (No model.)

' lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved portable grain dump and elevator,such as are used for unloading or discharging grain from wagons and forelevating the same into the bin, granary, or other place of storage; and

it has for its object to provide a device of this class which shallpossess superior advantages in point of simplicity, durability, .andgeneral efficiency.

With these ends in view my invention consists in the improvedconstruction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which willhereinafter be fully described, and particularly pointed out in theclaims.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a deviceconstructed in accordance with the principles of my invention. Fig. 2 isa sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view, on a largerscale, of the main power-shaft of the'device and its related parts. Fig.4 is a sectional detail view taken on the line 4 4 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 isa sectional detail view illustrating the foot-brake used in connectionwith my invention.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similarnumerals of reference. i

The main platform 1 of my improved apparatus is mounted on wheels 2,whereby it may be readily moved from one place to another, and it isprovided at the ends thereof with hinged approaches 3, which when not inuse may be folded upon theplatform. A pair of upright frames 4 4 aremounted upon the platform at the sides andn'ear the rear end of thesame. (By rear end I refer to the end of the platform at which wagonsleave the same after being unloaded.) These frames are each composed ofinclined upwardly-converging front and rear beams 5 and 6, connected'attheir upper ends by cap-pieces 7. I The front beams may each be composedof two members combining so as to form a slot or of a single memberhaving a vertical slot, the former construction being illustrated inthedrawings,

where 8 designates the slot. A pair of beams 9, hinged upon the platformat 10,are extended rearwardly through the slots 8 and are connected attheir rear ends with a movable'flooring-piece 11, which forms part ofthe flooring of the platform and which is so disposed that when a wagonoccupies the platform in position for tilting the front wheels of suchwagon shall rest upon the said movable flooring-piece. The ends of thebeams 9 are provided with brackets 12, in which are mounted pulleys 13.

pieces 7 ,are passed under the pulleys 13,thence over pulley 14,journaledzin the slots 8, near the upper ends of the-latter, anddownwardly through inclined slots 'or openings 15 in the floor of theplatform to a transverse shaft 16, to which the ends of said flexiblemembers are attached, it being evidentthat when the shaft is revolvedthe ropes will be wound thereon, thus elevating the movablefloor-section 11, which while being elevated is securely held by andbetween the beams 9.

To check the hind wheels of the wagon while its front portion is beingelevated, I provide a hinged floor-section 17, provided with brackets18, which not only form handles by means of which the said hingedfloor-section may be manipulated, but also serve as rests to retain thesame in theopen position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

The brackets 19 upon the platform 1 at the side and near the front endthereof are provided with bearings 20 for a shaft 21, upon which atrough 22, constituting the casing of an endless carrier, is pivotallymounted. The endless carrier 23 is mounted upon a drum or shaft at theouter end of the trough (not seen in the drawings) and upon the shaft21, which may be provided with a suitable drum to support the saidcarrier, if desired. The trough 22 is provided with an arm or handle 24,forming a lever by means of which it may be manipulated to raise .orlower it, as may be desired. The outer end of said trough is providedwith legs 25 to support it in an operative position, and theshaft 21has'a sprocket-wheel 26, whereby it receivesmotion from the source ofpower, as will be presently described. The carrier formed by the trough22 and its related parts discharges into an elevator 27, which ispivotally mounted at the inner side of the platform and which isprovided at its upper end with a dischargechute 28, which may beadjusted by means of a knotted rope 29 engaging between a pair of pins30, according to the height at which the discharge end of the elevatormay be raised, said discharge-chute being connected pivotally at 31 withthe upper end of the leg of the elevator. The latter extends througharectangular frame 32, the lower end of which is hinged at to a bracket34, projecting from the under side of the platform of my improveddevice. 35 designates a yoke or bail pivotally connected with the leg ofthe elevator. Attached to this yoke or bail is one end of a rope 36,which is guided by suitablydisposed pulleys 37 and 38 to a winding-drum39, disposed upon one side of the rectangu lar frame 32 and having acrank 40, by means of which it may be operated to wind the cord 36 andto raise the discharge end of the elevator to any desired point withinthe limit of the frame 32. The winding-drum 39 is preferably providedwith ratchetteeth 41, adapted to be engaged by a suitably-disposedspringpawl 42, whereby the elevator may be retained at any desiredadjustment.

4.3 designates the main power-shaft, which is mounted in suitablebearings longitudinally in the frame of the platform of my improveddevice near the inner edge thereof, whereby is meant the edge alongsideof which the elevator is disposed. Said power-shaft consists of twoparts or sections 44 and 45, adapted to be connected by means of aclutch comprising a fixed member 46, mounted upon the inner or rear endof the shaft member 44, and a sleeve 47, slidably mounted upon theadjacent end of the shaft member 45 and operated, by means of a lever48, to throw it into or out of engagement with the clutch member 46. Theinner end of the shaft-section 45 is journaled in a sleeve 49, which isvertically movable in a boxing 50, in which it may be retained in adepressed position by the action of a cam-lever 51, so as to causea worm52 upon said shaft-section to engage a worm-gear 53 upon the shaft 16,thereby operating the said shaft to wind thereon the ropes of flexiblemembers 5a, which serve for the purpose of elevating the tilting devicehereinbefore described.

55 designates a spring suitably disposed below the shaft-section 45 andbearing upwardly against the same to force it in an upward direction. Itis obvious that when the said shaft-section is released from thepressure of the cam-lever 51 the spring 55 will force it in an upwarddirection and out of engagement with the worm-gear 53.

The shaft-sectiontacarriesasprocket-wheel 56, which is connected byachain 57 with the sprocket-wheel 26 upon the shaft 21 of the endlesscarrier contained in the trough 22. The said shaft-section also has abevel-gear 57, meshing with a similar bevel-gear 58 upon the lower shaftof the endless carrier of the elevator, to which motion is in thismanner transmitted.

The shaft comprising the sections 44 and 45 receives motion, by means ofuniversallyjointed tumbling-rods, from a horse-power or some extent, soas to discharge into several individual bins when a row of thesereceptacles are disposed closely together without the necessity ofmoving the horse-power or other source of power from which motion issupplied to my improved device.

The shaft 16 is provided nearone end thereof with a friction wheel ordisk 65, the rim of which is adapted to be engaged by a lever 66,pivotally secured to the frame at 67 and having a foot-piece or treadle68, which extends upwardly through a slot in the flooring. This deviceconstitutes a brake by means of which the rotation of the shaft 16 maybe retarded, as will be readily understood.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawingshereto annexed, the operation and advantages of my invention will bereadily understood. In order to operate the device, the trough 22,containing the endless carrier at the front end of the platform, israised, by means of the lever or handle attached thereto, to anapproximately vertical position, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings,while the loaded wagon is being driven onto the platform. hen the frontwheels of the wagon reach the movable flooring-board 11, thefloor-section 17 is raised to the position indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 ofthe drawings, when it will check the hind wheels of the wagon andprevent the latter from running back against the trough 22, which is nowlowered to the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2. Duringthis time the entire shaft 43 receives rotary motion from the source ofpower and the endless carriers are constantly in motion; but the innerend of the shaft is raised, so as to bring the worm 52 out of contactwith the worm-gear 53. When the wagon is in position, the cam-lever 51is operated, so as to bring the worm 52 into mesh with the worm-wheel53, thus causing the shaft 16 to be rotated, with the result ofelevating the flooring-board 11, supported upon the arms 9, and thustilting the wagon, the end-gate of which has meanwhile been opened, soas to discharge its contents into the trough of the endless carrier, thelatter having also been restored to its normal position behind thewagon. When the wagon has been sufficiently tilted, the lever 48 may beoperated so as to throw the clutch members 47 and 46 out of gear. Thewagon will thus be retained in its tilted position by the intermeshingworm-gear while the endless carriers of the trough 22 and the elevatorare being operated so as to carry the contents of the wagon to the placeof storage. As soon as the contents of the wagon has been discharged thecam-lever 51 is thrown to release its pressure upon the shaft-section45, when the latter by the tension of the spring 55 will be instantlyelevated to a position out of mesh with the worm-wheel 53. The weight ofthe wagon will now, exerting its downward pressure upon theflooring-board ll, restore the latter to its normal position, therotation of the shaft 16 being meanwhile retarded by means of the footlever or brake 66, thus preventing the front and end of the wagon frombeing toosuddenly lowered, and thereby prematurely started down theincline of the approach. While this is taking place preparations may bemade for the reception of another wagon, which may closely follow thefirst one as the latter leaves the platform.

I have in the'foregoing described the preferred construction of myinvention; but I desire it to be understood that I do not limit myselfas regards the details thereof, but reserve the right to any changes,modifications, and alterations which may be resorted to withoutdeparting-fromthe spirit and scope of my invention or sacrificing anydegree of its utility.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In an unloadingapparatus, a platform having inclined approaches, a receivingtroughpivotally mounted and disposed transversely across the platform, and ahinged plank forming a part of the flooring of said platform adjacent tosaid trough and provided with upwardly-extending brackets.

2. In an unloading apparatus, aplatform, a loose flooring-plank adaptedto support the front wheels of a wagon driven onto the platform, a pairof beams hingedly connected with said platform and having their freeends connected with said loose flooring-plank, hoisting means for saidplank guided over suitablydisposed pulleys and having their endsconnected with a shaft disposed transversely under the platform, aworm-wheel upon said shaft, a worm disposed to be thrown into and out ofengagement with said wheel and operating means.

3. In an unloading apparatus, a platform, a loose flooring-plank adaptedto support the front wheels of a wagon driven onto the platform, framesrising from the sides of the latter and having vertically-slotted frontbeams, beams connected hingedly with the platform, guided in the slotsof the frame-beams and having their free ends connected with the looseflooring-plank, hoisting means connected with the cap-beams of-theframes, guided over suitably-disposed pulleys, including pulleys at thefree ends of the hinged beams and connected with a transversely-disposedshaft under the platform, and means for rotating said shaft and fortemporarily retaining it stationary when the rotation thereof issuspended.

4. In an unloading apparatus, aplatform, a loose flooring-plank adaptedto support the front Wheels of awagon driven onto the platform, framesrising from the sides of the latter and having vertically-slotted frontbeams, beams connected with the platform, guided in the slots of theframe-beams and having their free ends connected with the looseflooring-plank, a transversely-disposed shaft under the platform andflexible connecting means 5. In an unloading apparatus, a platform, a

pair of beams hinged at the sides thereof, a loose flooring-plankconnecting said beams, flexible hoisting means for the free ends of thebeams connected by the loose flooringplank, a transversely-disposedshaft forming a winding-drum for said hoisting means, a worm-wheel uponsaid shaft, a power-shaft composed of two sections having its inner endmounted in a vertically-slidable box, a casing for said box, a cam-levermounted to depress the shaft-boxing in said casing, a spring disposedbelow the shaft to force it in an upward direction, a worm upon theinner shaftsection engaging the worm-gear when depressed by the actionof the cam-lever against the oppositely-disposed spring, and clutchmeans connecting the ends of the shaft-sections.

6. In an unloading apparatus, a platform, a transversely-disposedpivotally-mounted receiving-trough having anendless carrier, a hingedflooring-plank disposed adjacent to said trough and havingupwardly-extending brackets forming a wagon-check, means for tilting awagon disposed upon the platform,

a pivotally-mounted elevator disposed to receive the discharge from thereceiving-trough, means for vertically adj nsting the discharge end ofsaid elevator, a power-shaft composed of two sections, clutch means toconnect said shaft-sections, means for transmitting motion from saidshaft to the endless carriers of the receiving-trough and the elevator,a

worm-gear upon the inner shaft-section, a

shaft constituting a winding-drum for the flexible connections of thewagon-tilting means and having a worm-wheel meshing with said worm-gear,and means for optionally throwing the latter into and out of en beams,hingedly connected with the platform, guided in the slots on the frontframe-beams and having their free ends connected with the looseflooring-plank, a transversely-disposed shaft under the platform, ropeconnections between said shaft and the cap-beams of the frames risingfrom the plat-form, said connecting-ropes being guided oversuitablydisposed pulleys including pulleys at the ends of the hingedbeams connected by the loose flooring-plank, means for operating thetransverse shaft, a friction disk upon the latter, and a foot-leverengaging said friction-disk and having a treadle end extending through aslot in the floor of the platform.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ROCKE. Witnesses:

D. N. OLAUDoN, DANL. OLAUDoN.

